Newsletter n.4/2015
We are all makers!
Maker Fairs and IoT-related events worldwide are changing the way we share creations and
knowledge. For example, VIPER, a start-up from the University of Pisa, is really benefitting from
attending and taking an active role in some of the most important international Maker and IoT
events. And their tour is not over.
VIPER (Viper Is Python Embedded in Real-time) is a design suite that enables device makers,
interactive designers and IoT professionals to create their next connected project in Python, one
of the most prominent programming languages used by millions of developers worldwide. That
makes VIPER an innovation that engages both makers and technology enthusiasts.
What makes VIPER different from all existing solutions is that it is compatible with all 32bit ARM
Professional and DIY microcontroller boards, such as Arduino, UDOO, Particle, and STM32 Nucleo.
With just a little coding, users can develop a wide-range of IoT applications: interactive
storefronts, home and industrial automation systems, art and museum installations, and smart
farming.
The team at VIPER came up with the idea after discovering that designers, device makers and
programmers all faced similar challenges. Ideas grow up when people meet and try to find
solutions to common problems. That’s why sharing experiences by participating in international
fairs and events has an incredible value in the world of makers.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute endorsement
of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
VIPER took part at World Maker Faire in New York, from 26 to 27 September, and at the Europe
Maker Faire in Rome, from 16 to 18 October. Maker Faire is called the “Greatest Show (& Tell) on
Earth”. Makers, tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, food artisans, hobbyists,
engineers, science clubs, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors across the globe come all
along to show what they have made and to share what they have learned.
The events are a way to celebrate the success of the development suite, a unique occasion to get
in touch with VIPER lovers as well as with global sector players.
The tour continued through several Italian cities, such as Turin, Pisa and Rome, where VIPER
participated in a series of IoT related events (Meet IoT, Internet Festival, IoT360).
Such events are growing exponentially worldwide because IoT is literally the heart of innovation.
“Events like these - stated Gabriele Montelisciani CEO at VIPER - provide a unique opportunity to
grow your network through an interaction with public administrators, entrepreneurs, developers
and influential thought leaders. We will also attend the IoT Tech Expo in London in February
2016”. The VIPER team strongly believes in the power of community. The project was launched
with a successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, which proved an important market test.
The contribution provided by the community of pledgers went beyond the financial support itself:
more than 400 early adopters from 25 countries supported the project. The community is growing
fast: from makers to single professionals, from startups to enterprises, more than 2500 users are
recognizing the value of the suite with the development of performing IoT projects.
The suite is open source and available to anyone who wants to start developing IoT applications
for non-commercial purposes.
The start-up is already working on the
professional version of the software,
which will be released, along with a
commercial-use license, by the end of
2015.
More info: http://www.viperize.it
Surrey earns two University of the Year
Awards. Partnerships such as ENDuRE prove to
be key to success!
Last month the University of Surrey was declared the University of the Year by The Times and
Sunday Times Good University Guide 2016!
The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2016 praised the University for being one of
“the most innovative universities in the UK: reducing its dependence on state funding, investing
£400M to develop the campus in Guildford, and launching a joint venture in China”.
The last ten years have seen dramatic change in the education sector, with even greater
competition to attract students and to win research funding. Most recently, the launch of the Vet
School, only the 8th in the UK and Ireland, has given the University a new prestigious discipline
that is already attracting capacity student numbers. Three new buildings that house the School
provide state-of-the-art facilities for teaching and research. The Queen will officially open this
new Veterinary School in October.
Surrey has continued to strengthen its research portfolio and as an example the recently
inaugurated 5G Innovation Centre, represents a major success in winning government funding and
attracting ‘matching’ industry and business support. With over £70m of support this will give our
researchers a real boost to push forward with their world-leading research. Surrey also continues
to benefit from the immensely successful Research Park, which continues to grow and remains
wholly owned by the University.
Competition for research funding is intense, epitomised by the REF, and competition from large
well-funded institutions. Surrey, however, had its best ever year for winning research grants –
achieving over £40m of new funding. Their new prestigious partnership with the National Physical
Laboratory (NPL) offers new opportunities for research and innovation.
During the past ten years the University has built strong international activities, including the
Surrey International Institute in partnership with Dongbei University of Finance and Economics in
Dalian, China. Surrey has also established close ties
with other leading international universities – for
example our Engineering staff give lectures on space
technology over the internet to students at Caltech
(California Institute of Technology – ranked amongst
the Top 5 in the World). They are also a founder
member of the University Global Partnership
Network, which has seen many staff travel to the
USA and South America, engaging research
collaborations.
Youth Talent to Market by CEDIT
How to develop entrepreneurial skills for artists and artisans
Through its participation in the ENDuRE program, CEDIT
focuses on improving the resilience of university spin-offs
and innovative and high-tech start-ups. In parallel, the
organization is also supporting other target groups in the
entrepreneurial community through various initiatives.
One of them, the “Youth Talent to Market” project, is
targeted at artisans and artists with creative skills, and is
aimed to increase their entrepreneurial skills.
YT2M is a partnership among three different organisations based in Italy (CEDIT), United Kingdom
(GECKO) and Cyprus (LC Youth).
The aim of this project is to develop enterprise skills in artists and artisans, to test and adopt
innovative practices that will support artisans to develop and sustain a business in this sector.
Youth Talent to Market will work closely with artisans and artist group throughout the life of the
project.
The program is divided into three phases:
During the first phase of the project the partnership launched a survey to gather vital information
from artists and artisans, sector professionals, education providers and business support advisors.
Thanks to the information collected during the first phase, the consortium then designed an
enterprise workshop tailored for these artists and artisans. The main contents of the workshop are
the following: Vision – Why do we want to do this; Idea – where are we now; Price/Value – What
do we do now; Resources – Do we have the skills and resources to carry out our plan; Refine Plan
– through peer engagement and self assessment, what is our plan now; Communicate – Marketing,
Events, Value, Brand; Launch – Pricing, Events, Reputation; Operations – Systems, Staff, Agility;
Customers – Price, Benefit, Loyalty, Growth; Innovation.
The program will be then delivered in a 2-week enterprise workshop in Florence (Italy), Limassol
(Cyprus) and Wolverhampton (UK).
All workshops are followed by a 46-day work placement abroad for 10 artists from each
participating country, in order to test how a direct involvement and collaboration with an
established company can help them to increase their entrepreneurial skills, similarly to how the
ENDuRE program will be offering entrepreneur placements.
We believe that this is a fantastic opportunity for artists and artisans to boost their skills. Our aim
is also to see the difference such experience can make to enhance their confidence and abilities,
with young people returning with great ideas and enthusiasm to make themselves stand out in a
tough job market.
Demand-Side Network Competitions:
Transforming Europe’s Built Environment
On Monday 26 October, Knight Frank, Synoptic Technologies (formerly iVeridis) and the ClimateKIC launched the Demand Side Network Competitions: a series of four events to connect the
world’s most promising start-ups in building technologies with Europe’s largest property players.
The Demand-Side Network Competitions are designed to encourage the early adoption of
innovative low-carbon building technologies. The events offer the unique opportunity for early
stage companies from around the globe to pitch in front of an engaged network of demand-side
organisations, composed of investors, property developers and building experts.
The first event, held in Rotterdam, saw six start-ups, selected from a pool of over 100 candidates,
pitch their products and services with high innovation and carbon-saving potential in three key
technology areas: Building Facades & Envelopes, Energy Storage and Lighting. The subsequent
events will be held in Gothenburg, Zurich and Warsaw over the course of November.
Start-ups presenting at these events include:
 SPUD from New Zealand presenting Plexisun, a patented solar thermal heating system
designed to be integrated into building structures.
 SDnC from the United Kingdom pitching their mechanical energy storage solution for
servicing the existing and future transmission and distribution energy network.
th

zEroCor Tubulars Inc. from Canada, who has developed a blend of inorganic chemicals for
industrial coatings designed for increased corrosion resistance and fire retardation.
About Climate-KIC
The Climate-KIC (Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community) is part of the
EIT (European
Institute of Innovation & Technology). EIT is an EU body whose mission is to increase sustainable
growth. The Climate-KIC supports this mission by addressing climate change mitigation and
adaptation.
Entrepreneurs from University of Southern
Denmark develop their business ideas in Berlin
35 students from the University of Southern
Denmark and the universities in Flensburg and Kiel
spent the last week of their summer vacation at an
international entrepreneurship summer school
program in Berlin. During this week they developed
their business ideas and gained insight into Berlin's
entrepreneurial
environment.
The
IDEA
Entrepreneurship Centre at the University of
Southern Denmark and Spice Netzwerk organized
the trip.
Student entrepreneurs from Denmark, Germany,
China, India, Vietnam, Iceland, Brazil, Uzbekistan
and Switzerland met up in Berlin. And as different the places, the young entrepreneurs came from,
as different were their business ideas.
- "They have some very different and creative ideas from an app that helps small organic food
producers with marketing to bags made of recycled sailcloth, the extraction of electricity from
waste heat, and tools to help children learn to play the piano," says special consultant IDEA, Lone
Toftild.
- "We learn – among other things - to make a short pitch of our business idea. It's hard when you
have to take the whole idea that you have worked with for a year or more, and then explain the
essential parts in only 3 minutes. It is a huge challenge " explains Sune Hjort, who is studying civil
engineering at University of Southern Denmark. Sune Hjort develops technologies in renewable
energy that transform waste heat into electricity.
The students also got an insight to prototyping when they visited Fab Lab. They will also visit
Telekom’s incubator that invests in entrepreneurs at an early stage and offer them coaching and
mentoring.
A New, Stronger RoboBusiness Europe is Born
Blue Ocean Robotics and EH Publishing have joined forces to create an
independent business, RoboBusiness Europe, headquartered in Odense,
Denmark
This newly formed
company will provide
the
established
RoboBusiness Europe
conference with the
resources they need
to invest more into
the major global event, resulting in an even stronger, more influential resource for the European
Robotics Market.
RoboBusiness Europe is an annual, executive level event for the robotics industry, where
companies, end-users, researchers and venture capitalists from around the world come together
for three days of intense knowledge-sharing, networking and relationship building. Made up of
both a conference and exhibition element, the event provides value and opportunity for large and
small companies alike, as well as other organizations in the industry.
Leading the newly formed RoboBusiness Europe is Marianne Andersen. With a background in
International Marketing, Business Development and Innovation, Andersen has extensive experience
in the surgical robotics area. She has worked with Intuitive Surgical, the largest surgical robotics
company, as well as various startups in the surgical robotics area.
RoboBusiness Europe is headquartered in Odense, Denmark because of the city’s unique cluster of
robotics companies and leading field research in the area. “The decision to separate RoboBusiness
Europe as an independent company, and be able to dedicate more resources to it, gives this event
the power to be a major force in the global robotics field. It provides a great opportunity to spread
robotics technologies and enhance business opportunities in the industry,” says Marianne
Andersen. “I am looking forward to working closely with the various stakeholder. Their success is
our success.”
About Blue Ocean Robotics ApS
Blue Ocean Robotics is a leading provider of emerging robotic solutions and services that improve
the quality of life, working environments and productivity for humans. Established in 2013, today
there are 90 employees working within 12 companies across the US, Europe and Asia.
About EH Publishing
EH Publishing is an integrated media company and the leading provider of independent business
and consumer content and information serving theconsumer, commercial & custom electronics,
security, information technology, house of worship, pro audio, robotics, and supply chain markets
through multimedia publications, websites, newsletters, and expos. EH provides resources to
millions of professionals and consumers worldwide.
Between Taste and Innovation, for Tuscan
excellence in the food sector
Creating a quality showcase and a sort of “Small Local
Polo of Taste” to promote the typical local elements
of Pisa, through the use of new communication
technologies and of smart cities tools.
The “Vetrina delle Qualità” is the idea born from the
partnership between Ponsacco, a small municipality in
the Province of Pisa, and the Technology Park of
Navacchio to enhance the uniqueness and originality of
food products, investing in the creation of an
integrated system, of equipped and qualified services,
to revitalize the local economy and increase youth employment through the creation of new startups, thanks to the contributions that young companies can get from Regione Toscana.
The goal is to create a “Small Smart City of Taste”, where technologies and human skills come
together in a creative way and communities themselves become bearers of “taste innovation” to
improve the quality of life of those living in Pisa and of those who might spend just a weekend
there.
Discovering the history, origin, production techniques, organoleptic characteristics and the correct
combinations of pasta, cheese, wine, simply framing a QRcode or RFID tags through augmented
reality; buying online and picking up the goods in the store or receiving them at home; using
SmartPay systems to pay quickly and safely with your smartphone; receiving notifications on
offers, initiatives and events; stay connected and using the services 24 hours a day through a
network of open access hotspots. These are just some examples of what might be possible to do
in the very near future as part of the project “Vetrina delle Qualità”.
Technology, facilitating communication and usability, can help citizens and tourists to get closer
to the natural heritage of the area, even in smaller towns, discovering real “taste tours” related
to the activities which will become part of the “diffused incubator” because Innovation is also in
taste.
For more information about the ENDuRE project, please visit our website
www.endureproject.eu or e-mail us at: [email protected]